


Aye, Cap'n

by obfonteri (aspiringenjolras)



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canonical Character Death, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-19 00:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14863034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aspiringenjolras/pseuds/obfonteri
Summary: The prompt: Last Words AU! Where you know the last words your soulmate will ever say to you. You don’t know you met them till you lose them.For Ravager Week 2018





	Aye, Cap'n

**Author's Note:**

> Just something quick and dirty I threw together for the first day of Ravager Week 2018. I'm a real sucker for Soulmate AUs, especially when they fit into canon so nicely. Enjoy!

Yondu’s accepted the fact that Kraglin’s last words to him will be something so generic that their fateful exchange could happen nearly any day.

It’s the reason he’s kept the tattoo on his shoulder covered at all times. He doesn’t want Kraglin to see it, and worry every single time he agrees to an order that this time will be the last. And the kid worries, all the time. About everything. It would be annoying if it were anyone else.

But it’s Kraglin, so Yondu goes the extra mile to protect him, for some reason. And when he asks why Yondu won’t take off his shirt, ever, Yondu says some crap about scars he doesn’t want him to see. Kraglin can probably tell that he’s being bullshitted, but to his credit he doesn’t pry. Yondu’s grateful for that.

Kraglin hasn’t shown Yondu his tattoo either, and he assumes it’s because Kraglin isn’t certain they’re soulmates. Yondu hasn’t shown his, so why would Kraglin? The idiot follows his lead on everything. Yondu knows, though. He’s not sure how he knows, but it probably has to do with the absurd affection he feels. Being soft and his style, but with Kraglin he just can’t help it.

So life goes on, Yondu feeling every “Aye, Cap’n” in a tingle on his skin, holding his breath until the moment’s passed and Kraglin’s said another stupid thing he hasn’t even heard because he’s too busy feeling relieved at the sound of his voice to listen to the words. Kraglin goes about his life as carefree as ever, and Yondu wonders what it must be like to not constantly be worried. 

And eventually, although he never forgets, he stops flinching at the words. He has bigger things to worry about, like being exiled from the Ravager fleet, and raising a dumb Terran boy on his own. And being betrayed by said Terran. And a mutiny.

Yondu never expected to find himself deep in the core of a planet he’d once done business with. But he hadn’t expected that planet to be his downfall either. 

“Kraglin, we need the quadrant for an extraction! T-minus five minutes!” The order falls off his lips as easily as any other, and then he’s back to fighting alongside Quill. He’s not used to being separated from Kraglin in a battle, but it’s nice to see how his son is faring. Especially with his newfound family. But there’s no time to think about that now, as the ground starts shaking and Ego reawakens.

Kraglin’s “Aye, Cap’n,” comes with a slight delay and a bit of a quaver, but Yondu doesn’t notice. If anything, he figures it’s a bad comm connection, which isn’t hard to imagine considering how far underground he is. So he thinks nothing of it, and keeps going.

It’s only when he’s said his farewell to the Rat and the Twig that he realizes he might not be getting out of this one alive. As he takes off to find Quill, he calls Kraglin’s name over the comm. But either Kraglin doesn’t hear him, or the connection has finally given out, because he gets no reply. For a moment, he considers jetting up to the surface and leaving Quill behind. But he knows that’ll be just another mistake in a long line of things he’ll never get a chance to make up for. So he forces Kraglin out of his mind, and tries not to think about the pathetically sad look on his face when he finds out Yondu’s dead.

Except, he already knows, doesn’t he?

 

* * *

 

 

The specificity of the words on Kraglin’s wrist has always frightened him a little. They wind around in big loopy scrawl, twice around, such that it would take some concentration to actually make them out. But even once he’s figured out what they say, he can’t find the context. And that’s how it’s supposed to be, most likely, but that don’t mean he has to like it. So he takes to staring at the two sentences at night when he’s removed his jacket and his arm is bare. They could belong to anyone, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t noticed how the Captain acts around him. And it makes sense. If voices had handwriting, he thinks, Yondu’s would look like this. 

Still, there’s a part of him that’s afraid to show him. Yondu hasn’t shown Kraglin his, after all. And even though he’s fairly certain it’s somewhere on his shoulder, always covered by a shirt, he doesn’t bother asking why he keeps it a secret. And maybe they aren’t soulmates, even if he believes it so hard his heart aches just thinking about it.

Anyway, soulmate business is ridiculous, or so he figures Yondu would say, if they ever did talk about it, so Kraglin tries not to think about it. It’s not a hard task. His tattoo— Yondu’s words— are so obscure that he tells himself he’ll know them when he hears them, and that’s all there is to it. No use dwelling on it. And even though he sees the writing every day, he trains his eyes to glaze over it, and eventually he isn’t reminded every time he rolls up his sleeves.

When Yondu tells him to wait with the ship, Kraglin doesn’t argue. It’ll be a quick mission— grab Quill and get out. He relaxes in the pilot’s seat, turns on some music, and eats his first meal in close to two days. 

Of course, the plan changes slightly after that. But no big deal. So it’ll take them a little longer to get out, that’s all. He does wish that he knew what was going on down there, but it’s fine. He’s used to being kept in the dark about stuff sometimes. No problem. 

And then he hears it. So fast and muffled it almost doesn’t register.

“Kraglin, we need the quadrant for an extraction! T-minus five minutes!”

He wonders how he didn’t put it together sooner, now that he thinks of it. 

A moment passes before he gathers his wits enough to reply, still in a stunned haze. “Aye, Cap’n,” he says, voice cracking. Now there’s a part of him that wonders what the point is, if that’s it. It doesn’t make sense. How could this be the last thing, in this situation? But he has his orders, and a loyal first mate he’ll be until the end, even if that end is sooner than later. So he steers the section of the ship down to the face of the planet, ready to meet them when they surface. 

The next few minutes are a blur, and he’s too busy keeping the quadrant from being pulled under to even think about comming Yondu. By the time Quill’s friends start arriving, one by one, he starts to accept what’s happening. First there’s Drax, the scary one, with some unconscious girl he doesn’t recognize. Then Nebula and her sister, and finally Rocket and the tree. Yondu and Quill are nowhere to be found, and he understands.

Rocket calls out to him to  _ go _ , and he does. Waiting for them any longer is suicide. So he watches, helpless, as two figures erupt from the atmosphere. There’s no point in trying to get to them in time. He can’t speak about Quill, but Yondu’s gone. 

No goodbyes, no “I love you”s, no joyous reunions after having heard the words from their tattoos spoken aloud. 

But that’s how it was always going to be, loving his Captain. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought, and come say hi on [tumblr](http://obfonteri.tumblr.com)!


End file.
